


Warmth

by liions



Category: The Yogscast
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-01
Updated: 2013-11-01
Packaged: 2017-12-31 05:16:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,519
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1027663
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/liions/pseuds/liions
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Honeydew hasn’t heard Xephos yelling at Lalna all day. He knows something’s up.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Warmth

_-because of that-okay yeah. So when you connect the gear to this point, then string a wire- a blue oh, wait, a red one? I think that says red or is it yello- no, yeah a red one through there then hook it up to the blue- so that's where the blue wire comes from. Makes sense. Now weld those two togeth-_

"-Hey Lalna?" The dwarf's voice interrupted the scientist's thoughts. He held a finger up for 'one moment', finishing the little welding job, then let his tools clatter to the side as he tugged his goggles to his forehead.

"Yeah?"

"Where's Xeph?" Lalna opened his mouth to respond, but Sips' loud voice broke in.

"He's on the roof moping."

"Yeah, he even took a drink up there." Sjin chimed in before Sips shoved him, the two suddenly engaged in a little joke between the pair. Honeydew looked over to Lalna for a confirmation of this, but the man was already absorbed in his project again. Sighing, he headed up the tunnels to the roof. Before he reached the roof itself though, the dwarf made a quick stop to craft two mugs of hot chocolate.

"Xeph?" His question billowed out in a cloud of fog.  The cold instantly clung to Honeydew and he shivered, holding the drinks closer as if he could draw some extra warmth from them. It wasn't hard to find the man. Without the ever present wind whipping up the left-over snow and clouding his vision, there were no hiding spots, especially for a man of Xephos' height.

Xephos had found himself a spot free of old snow, resting against a crenellation with a lazy slump. The only indicator of his internal distress was his hands gripping the stone mug with white knuckles. Honeydew cleared his throat, hoping to gain his attention without disrupting the man's thoughts too much. He didn't react. Honeydew noticed he was staring up at the sky, but something told him Xephos wasn't looking at anything in particular. Clearing his throat again, Xephos finally reacted, jumping a bit. "Xephos? Isn't it cold up here, buddy?"

"I guess." Honeydew sat himself down next to the man, shifting obnoxiously into a comfortable position. Xephos snorted in response to the movement, and finally tore his gaze from the sky to glance at him. "How are you doing, friend?"

"I came to ask you that."

"I asked first."

Honeydew snorted. "I'm doing great!” He set down the mugs then spread his arms out wide, referring to the whole compound. "I have a wonderful company that's just about to produce Jaffas and I have mostly loyal workers- except Sips and Sjin when they drink too much, and well, Lalna too-"

Xephos cracks a small smile at this. Honeydew spots it, and charges on. "But what I don't have, is my friend by my side. Haven't seen you all day! I tried asking Lalna, but he was wrapped up in yet another project...” His hands make the shape of a piece of machinery, finishing his sentence, gesturing vaguely downstairs.  “Sometimes I swear that man is living in his own little tech world.” Xephos tilts his head in agreement, staring back up at the stars. Before Xephos can run away to his thoughts again, Honeydew changes the topic. "What are you drinking?"

"Hell if I know." His nose wrinkled as he stared down into his nearly empty mug. "I think Lalna let Sips help him, and Sips likes to experiment." 

"Oh yeah! Those are some, er…  interesting mixtures." Honeydew laughs, remembering some of the drinks Sips made him try.

"Hm." They lapse into a silence, uncomfortable only for Honeydew. In an effort to keep himself entertained while he let Xephos think, his gaze wanders the roof, to the abandoned machines still humming away, across the land he can just barely make out in the mist, over to Xephos' always-tired face, down to his empty hands that pick absent-mindedly at age-old callouses. He finally settles on the sky, searching blindly for what could be keeping Xephos' attention up there.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Honeydew asks.

"I don't know." Xephos takes a sip before he responds.

"Okay." His voice drops to a whisper. "Okay." The silence is more comfortable this time but the cold starts to nip at his fingertips, reminding the dwarf of the drinks at his side. "Oh! Here, I made you some cocoa." He trades the cold stone mug and pressed the luckily still warm mug into Xephos' chilly fingers.

"Oh." Xephos takes a sip, grimacing at the taste. "It's a bit strong."

"Huh, no it's perfect." Honeydew scoffs. "The perfect amount of chocolate and milk."

Xephos laughs, and even though he sounds worn-out, Honeydew can tell it's genuine. "If you say so." He takes another drink anyways; a longer one that warms him up.

"D'you mind if I stargaze with you?"

"Go ahead." The pair sips at their drinks as they look at the sky. A couple clouds drift by and Honeydew pretends one is shaped like a pickaxe, and another like a tree. He even thinks he sees a pig. The clouds don't stay for long though, drifting out of sight and leaving Honeydew with the stars. Even as a dwarf, he can't deny that the stars are beautiful. Especially on clear nights, with a cup of cocoa to drink and a friend to sit by.

"Do, do you ever feel like we fucked up somewhere?" Xephos' voice is low, almost at a whisper, like he's afraid to hear the answer.

"What do you mean?"

"Like," he sighs at himself, scrubbing his face with a hand. "Like we took a wrong turn somewhere. We're running a _cookie_ factory, for Pete’s sake."

Honeydew takes a moment, sipping some more cocoa before he responds. "I'd say this is a good retirement plan. Don't you?"

"Yes, No- I mean-" Xephos sighs again. "I don't know. Everything just stopped after, after Israphel and now we're leading a boring life where the biggest danger is forgetting our flying rings."

"Thats- that's better than losing our life, right?" Honeydew's stomach turns in concern. The air crackles again, Xephos' pent up thoughts spilling out.

"Is it? Is it though? Are we even afraid losing our lives anymore? When was the last time a creeper even scared us? Because I sure as hell can’t remember because nothing happens around here! We get up every morning with the sun, check the to-do list, work on projects, then eat lunch and continue the same projects till we go to bed! Then we get up and repeat the same process over and over and _over_ -! The last exciting thing that happened was when the giant Santa caught fire in a thunder storm, and nothing even happened because of that! It just burned for a little bit then the rain put it out-” His words are halted with a sharp inhale as Xephos doubles over, mug clutched tightly to his stomach while he pressed his face against the cold fabric over his knees as his chest heaves in much needed air. Without his friend’s words filling the space, the roof falls silent again. Carefully Honeydew leans against Xephos, resting his head on his friend’s hunched shoulder. He can feel the man’s breathing slowly return to a more reasonable rate at his touch, syncing itself with the dwarf’s own slow inhale and exhale.

When Xephos speaks next, his voice is quiet. “Doing the same thing every day is rotting my brain. If we suddenly had to go save the world again, I’m... I’m not sure I would remember how to be that- those heroes we were. We’re…” Xephos stares down into the mug, searching for a word. “ _Drones._ Mindless creatures who follow the sun, who don’t know of death, or -or life. They just, are.”

Setting his empty mug on the ground, Honeydew shifts the pair, wrapping his arms around his friend. “I’ll take you on an adventure, okay?” He says, his thumb rubbing comforting circles on Xephos’ back. “We’ll go somewhere amazing, with the right amount of excitement and stupid cliffs to climb and dark rooms to light up and monsters to fight. We can go to the moon for all I care. Now,”  Honeydew jabs his fingers into Xephos’ sides, expertly finding his ticklish spots. The man lurches out of the way, a surprised gasp interrupted by a laugh.

“Honeydew-“

“No more of this moping, ya hear me?” The motions cause them to fall over, Xephos flat on his back,  desperately trying to get Honeydew’s hands away, laughter bubbling up louder and louder.

“Ok-! Okay Okay! No more ple _ase_ -”

“Good.”  With that he’s released from the tickling, and given a helping hand to sit up again.

The two lean back against the bricks once more, staring up into the sky. They watch a stray cloud lazily swim across the stars, before the sky is again a brilliant sea of specks. Now with warmth settling in place of the cold, Xephos inhales a deep breath, releasing visible tension as he exhales. "Thanks friend."

“Anytime.”


End file.
